History of Southeast Asia

Having talked about how the Europeans conquered other parts of Southeast Asia in previous episodes, today we will look at the one nation that kept itself from becoming a colony -- Siam. This episode covers the years from 1782 to 1939. Here you will learn how Siam did it, and why it is now called Thailand. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/1809siam.jpg) Here is a map of Siam in the early 1800s, when the kingdom was at its greatest size. These borders lasted until 1863, when Britain and France started taking parts of the kingdom for themselves. The core territory they left behind became present-day Thailand in 1939. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

This podcast episode finishes what the previous episode started, covering the French conquest of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, from 1867 to 1907. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/indochina_conquest_map.gif) This map shows the French conquest, step by step. Although it is a French language map, if you can read English you should be able to figure out what the text is saying in most places. The white area around Hanoi was temporaily captured by Francis Garnier's 1873 expedition, and conquered more permanently in 1883. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

Now the podcast moves to the east side of the Southeast Asian mainland. This is the first in a two-part series on how the French conquered Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. If you are interested in what I may say in the future about the twentieth-century Vietnam War, this episode is an important stepping stone, setting the stage to that conflict by bringing in the French. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

Would you believe it, the podcast is now one year old! In continuation of the narrative, this episode will cover the history of Burma/Myanmar in the nineteenth century. The main event is the British conquest, which made Burma part of British India. You will also hear me read a poem by Rudyard Kipling; listen and enjoy! (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/ABWthumb.jpg) I have several pictures to share today. The first is a map showing Britain's gains in the Anglo-Burmese Wars. This is a thumbnail; click on the picture to see it full size (it will open in a separate window). The British proclaimed their rule over the pink territories in 1826, the red area in 1853, and the green area in 1886. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/mingun-pahtodawgyi.jpg) Here is what I call the Burmese answer to the Tower of Babel -- the Mingun Pahtodawgyi Pagoda. If it had been completed, it would have been the world's largest pagoda, standing 490 feet high. The unfinished ruins are 172 feet high today. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/9749385_orig.jpg) And here is the other side of Mingun, showing the main archway split by the 1838 earthquake. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/m000302.jpg) Some of the shrines around the Kutho Daw Pagoda in Mandalay. Each shrine is built over a stone slab, carved with Buddhist scriptures. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/m000307.jpg) A model of the whole Kutho Daw complex, the world's heaviest book. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/MandalayXmas.jpg) Finally, here is a Christmas card sent from Mandalay in 1886. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

With this episode the podcast introduces the fourth Western empire to acquire colonies in Southeast Asia, the British Empire. Although Britain was a late participant in the imperial game, by the nineteenth century they were outperforming every other imperial power. Here you will hear how the British gained control over Malaya, Singapore, and part of Borneo. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/india/IndianOcean.jpg) This episode calls the Indian Ocean a "British lake." Here you can see what I meant by that; Britain ruled all the purple territories in 1914. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

After taking a bit of a break last month, we are now ready to resume the narrative, with the first episode covering events in the nineteenth century. This time we will see how the Dutch conquered all of Indonesia, or as they called it after they took over, the Dutch East Indies. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

This is a special mini-episode, because if you have been listening to the narrative, we have finished the early modern era (1500 to 1800) and are now about to begin the colonial era (1800 to 1965) in Southeast Asian history. This episode will explain what has changed in the relationship between Europe and Southeast Asia, and what made it possible for the Western nations to step in and take over, rather than just sit on the periphery like they did for the previous three hundred years. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

This episode covers the latest round in the ongoing conflict between Myanmar and Thailand, or as they were called before the twentieth century, Burma and Siam. At the height of the fighting, the Burmese utterly destroyed Ayutthaya, the capital of Siam. But this wasn't the end of Siam; the Siamese kings move first to Thonburi, then to Bangkok, and the kingdom recovered with amazing speed. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

This episode covers Vietnam in the early modern era, from 1471 to 1819. Twice during this period, Vietnam was divided between rival factions, from 1527 to 1592, and then from 1592 to 1802. We will also see Champa, Vietnam's rival in Episodes 4 and 8, for the last time. Finally, one French clergyman will invent today's Vietnamese alphabet, and another will help Vietnam pull itself together again; that marks the beginning of French involvement in Vietnam, which we will see much more in future episodes. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/360px-Vietnam1650.GIF) This map from Wikipedia shows Vietnam around 1650, in the middle of the second division. The lands belonging to all the players mentioned in this episode are shown here. The Bau Lords are not mentioned because they were the least important faction; all they did was keep their district in the northwest independent of the other families, from 1527 until 1699. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

Today's episode wraps up coverage of seventeenth-century events in Burma, Siam and Laos, with some really obscure stories about two kingdoms that no longer exist: Arakan and Lan Xang. We will cover the peak years and decline of both kingdoms. And that's not all; we will also see another European try to gain control over a Southeast Asian state, this time Siam. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/Arakanmap.jpg) Here is the map that was originally posted in Episode 5, showing where Arakan/Rakhine is, in relation to the rest of Burma/Myanmar and Bangladesh. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/Dutchman18c.png) This picture is from the March 1971 issue of National Geographic Magazine, and it shows a lacquer panel painting, made in Siam during the eighteenth century. Here is a scene from a Buddhist legend, which shows the enemies of the Buddha attacking. Note the European in the middle of the crowd, taking aim with a musket. Listen to the episode to get an idea on why the artist thought Europeans were the bad guys. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my SEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

In recent episodes we have met two European nations that explored and exploited parts of Southeast Asia, Portugal and Spain. Now this episode introduces the Dutch and tells how they got involved in Indonesia. Because the Dutch used a corporation, the Dutch East India Company (also called the V.O.C.), this will be a very different story from that of the Portuguese and Spanish empires. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/? code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

This episode finishes what we started covering last time, the wars on the Southeast Asian mainland in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Whereas we mainly looked at two Burmese kings last time, here we will concentrate our attention on Naresuan, whom modern-day Thais consider their greatest king. Also, we will see a strange adventure in which two Europeans, a Portuguese and a Spaniard, try to turn Cambodia into a pro-Spanish puppet state. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/Naresuanwallpaper.jpg) Here is the scene from "The Legend of King Naresuan" movie series where Naresuan shoots a Burmese general at long range, something you shouldn't be able to do with a sixteenth-century musket. An army officer, Wanchana Sawatdee, was picked to play the king, so Thai audiences would not get distracted by seeing a famous actor. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

The last four episodes have mainly talked about events on Southeast Asia's islands, so now we will return to the mainland and the conflict that we started to cover at the end of Episode 10. Special attention is given to the two most important Burmese kings of the sixteenth century, Tabinshwehti and Bayinnaung. I call this episode and the next one "The Elephant Wars" because most of the fighting was either on elephants, or over elephants. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/Toungoo.jpg) Here is the map from Wikipedia showing the second Burmese Empire in 1580, at the height of Bayinnaung's power. Unfortunately it has a few misspelled names, but I have not found a better map anywhere else. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

In the previous episode we learned how Spain discovered the Philippines, so in this episode Spain will name and conquer the Philippine islands, making them a colony for more than three hundred years. (Note: A remastered edition of this episode was uploaded on March 24, 2017, with better sound quality than the original.) (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/Map_of_Philippines_(en).png) Here is a map of the Philippines so listeners can keep track of all the places mentioned in this episode, from Manila to Mindanao. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

In this episode, a second European nation, Spain, gets involved in Southeast Asia by discovering the Philippines, a part of Southeast Asia that had not gotten much attention previously. Then we will see Spain's attempts to take Indonesia and its valuable spice trade from Portugal. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/c02f005.gif) This map explains the Portuguese-Spanish dispute in Southeast Asia. It shows three ideas on where to put the "Tordesillas antimeridian," the line between the Portuguese and Spanish claims. Only the line on the right is in the correct place. The dotted line is where Ferdinand Magellan thought the Southeast Asian mainland was. Source: Stalemate at Bajadoz (http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p66561/mobile/ch02s09.html). Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)